BUFFALO, N.Y. – University at Buffalo earthquake engineer
Michael C. Constantinou said while today’s earthquake near
Ottawa, Canada, appears to have caused little damage it should
nonetheless remind people that the East Coast is not immune to
temblors.

“Fortunately, this is a relatively minor
earthquake,” said Constantinou, director of the Structural
Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory at UB’s
MCEER (Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research). “It serves as a reminder, though, that we’re
not immune to this type of seismic activity.”

The quake struck at roughly 9:45 a.m. Friday near Shawville,
roughly 45 miles northwest of Ottawa. Preliminary measurements from
Canada indicated the quake measured at 5.0 or 5.1 on the Richter
scale. The U.S. Geological Survey placed it at a 4.4 magnitude
temblor.

The quake occurred roughly 6 miles (9.8 kilometers) underground,
the USGS said. Reverberations were felt almost immediately in the
Buffalo Niagara region (220 miles southwest) and other parts of
upstate New York and the Northeast.

Constantinou, professor in UB’s Department of Civil,
Structural and Environmental Engineering, said he isn’t
surprised that the quake moved as far and as fast as it did. Past
studies, including ones on the 2011 Virginia earthquake, indicate
that geologic structure and rock properties on the East Coast allow
seismic waves to travel farther without weakening compared to the
West Coast, he said.

To reach the Buffalo Niagara region, the waves travelled under
Lake Ontario, which at its deepest point is about 250 meters (820
feet) deep. Joseph Atkinson, a professor in UB’s Department
of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering who studies Lake
Ontario, said the seismic waves are unlikely to have an impact on
the lake.

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